168 posts in this topic

Well, I am blown away by the gift that I received. Wes really doesn't want me to finish my dissertation, haha. In all seriousness, this is very humbling and I don't know how best to express how thankful I am except to say thank you. This unboxing pic of me looking way more excited than I usually do (I intended just a very pleased smile, I confess) comes via a joke by Addie, who took the picture right after she said "Now look like I didn't schedule you a vasectomy for Christmas," causing me to laugh really hard and create an embarrassing picture of myself for everyone's enjoyment.

As an aside, I have a large pile of digital goodies for my own person, but they haven't accepted my Steam friend request. If they don't respond by the end of the day I'm just going to spoil the surprise and PM them since I should not be sitting on gifts after receiving my own.

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I just received my Secret Santa gift box today, and I'm a little blown away.

- four-pack of Cheerwine

- Mexican hot chocolate

- Nickel Creek album on vinyl

I'm not quite sure who my Secret Santa was (please, do tell!), but you freaking knocked it out of the park on this one. I love Cheerwine, but it's only available at expensive specialty shops around here. Hot chocolate is always a good idea, and this Nickel Creek album is incredible thus far. I'm actually a big fan of bluegrass, and this has got a lot of that great Appalachian flavor to it--super thanks!

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I just received my Secret Santa gift box today, and I'm a little blown away.

- four-pack of Cheerwine

- Mexican hot chocolate

- Nickel Creek album on vinyl

I'm not quite sure who my Secret Santa was (please, do tell!), but you freaking knocked it out of the park on this one. I love Cheerwine, but it's only available at expensive specialty shops around here. Hot chocolate is always a good idea, and this Nickel Creek album is incredible thus far. I'm actually a big fan of bluegrass, and this has got a lot of that great Appalachian flavor to it--super thanks!

hey, this was me! =D i'm so happy you're into it. you did say you wanted my favorite album on lp and interesting soda or chocolate, so there you go =)

for those who don't know:

1. cheerwine is a primarily SC/NC-based pop company that's actually one of the oldest (if not the oldest) family-owned fountain drink maker in the country. they make what's basically the best black-cherry pop in existence. it's also very reasonable as an add-on item from amazon, and (best of all!) should be available everywhere in the states in grocery stores by 2017 or so. i'm surprised you've tried it before, flex, i checked and didn't see you'd lived in the carolinas area. i only had it once or twice and absolutely loved it.

2. mexican hot chocolate is really good, and the stuff made the old-style artisanal way is the best...stone-ground chocolate that's a bit gritty in a pleasant way. fantastic for sitting around and listening to...excellent bluegrass on lp! speaking of which...

3. nickel creek (and, by extension, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile) is one of my favorite musical groups, and 'why let the fire die?' is easily my favorite album of theirs. i was super nervous you'd be like "ew bluegrass" so i'm really happy you're into it! they play extremely progressive music, stuff that does a lot of mixing of styles including jazz, folk, and rock. it's pretty involved stuff, has some excellent lyrics, and is a real musical journey. i have been more influenced in my own music by this group than any other. i wasn't super excited to see that the lp changes the order of the tracks, but it's still a fantastic experience. if you like this, flex, check out Thile's new albums under Punch Brothers. their newest album, Phosphorescent Blues, is even more on the progressive side, about as much folk as kid a is rock. really, really experimental in an awesome way. the first track (familiarity) blew my mind with how imaginative it was.

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Definitely gonna have to check out Punch Brothers, then, since I'm officially now a big fan of Nickel Creek. I grew up listening to a lot of bluegrass as a kid, and it remains one of my favorite genres. I'm super happy that you got me that record, despite my reputation as "the EDM guy" here on OCR. My vinyl collection is solely comprised of either albums that have some sort of cultural and historical significance, or things that are oddball and interesting (such as the set of barbershop quartet records Stevo gave me this year), or albums that have earned a place in my "favorites of all time" list. This, I think, will be falling squarely into that last category.

And like I said, there are some specialty shops here in Phoenix that carry Cheerwine, as well as a ton of other great specialty sodas, and I spent a lot of money in my late teens and very early twenties on various kinds of soda. Still a total soda junkie, but it's a luxury item that has taken a back seat to a lot of other things now that I'm a "responsible adult" or something (and by that I mean I actually have bills now, lol). However, that means that when I do receive something like a whole four-pack of the stuff, I'm super thrilled!

I'm saving the hot chocolate for when I have an evening to sit down and relax. It sounds amazing and I'm looking forward to it!

Seriously, this was a fantastic gift, and I'm incredibly grateful. You, sir Burr, are a gentleman and a scholar.

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Seriously, this was a fantastic gift, and I'm incredibly grateful. You, sir Burr, are a gentleman and a scholar.

i'm just glad i got a list that was interesting. i had a few extra bucks this holiday and wanted to give someone something that'd really give them a nice day, and it sounds like i succeeded. merry christmas flex =D

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1. cheerwine is a primarily SC/NC-based pop company that's actually one of the oldest (if not the oldest) family-owned fountain drink maker in the country. they make what's basically the best black-cherry pop in existence. it's also very reasonable as an add-on item from amazon, and (best of all!) should be available everywhere in the states in grocery stores by 2017 or so. i'm surprised you've tried it before, flex, i checked and didn't see you'd lived in the carolinas area. i only had it once or twice and absolutely loved it.

One of the few perks to living in North Carolina is Cheerwine. Glad to see it's enjoyed outside of the Carolinas!

(My first reaction to seeing Flex's spoils image was "really, only four cans?" )

Part two of my gift for my recipient is almost ready to ship. I should have it on its way come Monday.

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Just shipped mine through Amazon. Had something in mind I would have liked to include, but it would have been too awesome! (...or it would have put me past my budget ) There's a digital code to send your way too, so message me when you get the package and I'll reply with the second half!

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I got my first and only Amiibo, of the best SSB character, Zero Suit Samus! I'm levelling her up to be an unstoppable smash machine. My son James has an amiibo too, so we will have them battle it out, starting at level 1, and see who's will be the ultimate champion.

Unfortunately I have been in a crazy time crunch & am currently in DC for the week (and in Orlando the next two), but I will carve out some time in January to play these games . Thanks Rexy, looking forward to the second half of the bonanza!

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just got my gift. jen/jade sent me all the DLC for Rocket League, and a copy of Planet Explorers! i am super excited for both =) planet explorers is also a cool one, an early access game that combines the blocky building elements of minecraft and cube world, the big dinosaurs of games like Ark and Turok, and an over-the-shoulder FPS view similar to most of the valve games. i played a little of it a while ago and always wanted to try it now that it's getting farther along. thanks so much!

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I got my first and only Amiibo, of the best SSB character, Zero Suit Samus! I'm levelling her up to be an unstoppable smash machine. My son James has an amiibo too, so we will have them battle it out, starting at level 1, and see who's will be the ultimate champion.

Thank you Koriantor!

I also got you some Riot Points! PMed the redemption code. Merry Christmas!

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I received a notification from school that a package arrived, and I'm assuming it's from my SS, seeing that I haven't ordered anything large recently. However, I won't be able to open it until January. So, it arrived, but... it's gonna stay wrapped for now.